THE YEAR OF THE CREATIVITY TUNE-UP COMES TO A CLOSE

My birthday!
I’ve anticipated/planned for this birthday as much as my pregnant mother
anticipated/planned for me so many years ago!

Planning and Getting Started

Why do I say this?
On September 1 of last year, I began a yearlong Creativity Tune-Up
(CTU). Earlier posts have dealt
with the beginnings that were inspired by Gretchen Rubin’s book, The
Happiness Project. I liked her idea of a yearlong focus;
however, her specific plan didn’t resonate with me. Julia Cameron’s book, Walking in the World, did.
She proposes how to discover more of the potential of one’s own creative
self through both a plan and suggested tools. I determined to devote 12 weeks
to reading and working my way through the book. To further build and customize the plan, I added “20 Wishes”
and also resolved to address/incorporate nine environmental dimensions of the
context in which I live and create.
These ranged from the mimetic, relationships, networks, financial and
physical environments to nature, self, body and spiritual dimensions. For more on “The Nine Environments of
You,” see: http://www.journey-to-freedom.com/9environments.html/

In prior years, I had written Morning Pages, three pages of
stream of consciousness writing, a tool, a kind of meditation. I returned to the practice on September
1 of last year. I have written
Morning Pages every day since.
“They will lead you to an inner teacher whose profundity will amaze
you,” Julia Cameron wrote. And so
it has been.

Artist’s Dates, once-weekly, hour-long solo expeditions to
“explore something festive or interesting to your consciousness” is another of
Cameron’s recommended ‘tools,” one easily applied in New York City.

The third tool, taking at least one twenty-minute walk a
week “to clear the head,” was also easy to do in New York City.

In November, I hired a trainer. I see him once a week and supplement that time with five
more trips to the gym each week—unless I’m traveling. In most cases, I find it extraordinarily difficult to
exercise when away from home--and even when home. So hiring a trainer was
important and consistent with something St. Francis of Assisi claimed: “Start by doing what is necessary; then
do what is possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” A trainer keeps exercise fresh and
new. Even now, nearly a year
later, he is making the impossible possible!

Carrying On with the Practice

Beginnings are important. They set intentions/direction and a whole stream of events
issue from that choice/decision. By December, it was apparent I was off to a
good start.

I was maintaining my momentum and I was able to diverge from
a set plan to one more attentive to possibilities. Joseph Campbell said, “We must be willing to get rid of the
life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” I never want to get so caught up in
getting something done that I am not open to consideration of a great
possibility.

Often I am asked, “What do you do?” (The question is a sure tip-off I am
peaking to an American!) Anyway, I
play with the answer. Often, I
say, “I play a lot.” And indeed I
do. I find—or create—worlds to play in. A “world” may be a museum, a book club, a conversation
group—or a Creativity Tune-Up.

Another of my “worlds to play in” is Conversation Among
Masters (CAM), a conference for master coaches, life, corporate and more, to
come together to converse and learn together. A big take-away from the May 2012 conference was finding out
about The Art of Hosting—and Harvesting--Transformational Conversation. This holds great promise for play, for
discovery and more.

The editing and shedding of “stuff and things,” (mostly
paper—and the most difficult of all my efforts)) became much more engaging when
I determined to send off any “treasure” that surfaced to someone who I thought
might be interested. Just one
simple act—identification of a potentially interested recipient—was all that
was required. I then noticed what
happened. This has created some
remarkable experiences—and I love the connections. It has been great fun!

Reflections

As the year’s end of the CTU was approaching, I began asking
myself, Where are my breakthroughs coming? What questions am I carrying? What is this the time to do? How does the “Year of the Tune-Up” and the consistency
of it apply to other areas of my life?

Also, I began thinking about how I wanted to bring a
ritualistic ending to the yearlong emphasis on tune-up. I determined to look for something
beautiful to commemorate the year’s attention to creativity. I determined to look for this
“something” at the Santa Fe Indian Market in August.

Celebration

August was devoted to celebration. I’m in charge of celebrations and I attend to them with
energy, joy, imagination and glee.
Mostly, I traveled and spent time with friends.

The perfect sculpture, a profile of an Indian
woman, created by Preston La Fountain, found me at Indian Market—about 20
minutes into the experience. Usually, my MO is to look at everything and then
choose; however, I thought it likely the sculpture would be gone if I didn’t
act. And it was what I was looking
for—exactly! So, yes, I purchased
it—with no buyer’s remorse.

Though I accomplished incredible things, not everything got
done. So then what? Do I consider the CTU a failure? No. Along the way, I discovered I would work on certain things
until they are finished, no matter how long it takes.

Meanwhile, how I feel about the year isn’t about
completion. It is about being
enough. It is about celebrating a
year’s devotion to embracing the place creativity has in my life.

Looking Ahead to 2012-13

Friends have asked, “What will you do in 2013?” I’ve thought about that. When I was asking myself the
what-is-it-time-to-do question, I reviewed my Bucket List, crossed off some
things that aren’t going to happen (like “drive fast cars”) and added new
ones. My 2012-13 list is filled
with things I haven’t done or want to do more of.